5 Life Lessons we learnt from Donna Karan

Mercury doesn't have to control your life...

This week iconic designer, Donna Karan, releases her much-anticipated memoir. After setting up her own label DKNY in 1984, Karan has become renowned for her wearable designs – still feminine but comfortable enough to actually wear.

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From being Anna Klein’s Chief-Assistant, to eventually selling her own label for $643m, there’s a lot that can be learnt from a woman who has been fired from her job and offered the chance to start her own multi-million dollar company - both in the same day. Here’s a few life lessons from the woman herself and a taster of what to expect from her memoirs:

1. 'You’re only as good as the team behind you.'

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2. When Mercury is in retrograde you (probably) shouldn’t sign any important contracts - but don't let that stop you. Donna Karan almost backed out of signing the contract to sell DKNY because her psychic called last minute to break the bad astrological-news, but signed it anyway… not so big and powerful now, Mercury.

3. Looking good is great but practicality is key: 'clothes can and should be beautiful, but they only work if you want to wear them in your everyday life.'

4. Doubting yourself is normal. On the day of her first show Donna Karan was full of insecurities: 'I felt naked, exposed and horribly vulnerable.'

5. It’s okay for your colleagues to see your breasts. (Donna Karan doesn’t like wearing a bra, but she does like to try on the clothes she’s making as part of her design process - so pretty much everyone she’s worked with has seen her topless.)

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